page_title: VFA-14 (U.S. Navy)
section_title: 1960s
hierarchical_section_title: VFA-14 (U.S. Navy) / History / 1960s
caption_attribution_description: A U.S. Navy McDonnell F-4B Phantom II of Fighter Squadron 14 (VF-14) "Tophatters" approaches for a landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CVA-67) on 9 December 1968. Douglas A-4C Skyhawks of Attack Squadron 81 (VA-81) "Sunliners" are visible in the foreground. VF-14 was assigned to Attack Carrier Air Wing 1 (CVW-1) aboard the John F. Kennedy for her shakedown cruise to the Caribbean Sea from 2 November to 16 December 1968.
context_page_description: The Strike Fighter Squadron 14 "Tophatters" are a United States Navy fighter attack squadron based at Naval Air Station Lemoore. They fly the F/A-18E Super Hornet, and are the Navy's oldest active squadron, having formed in 1919. Their callsign is Camelot, and their tail code is NG.
context_section_description: In May 1963, the squadron transitioned to the F-4B Phantom II and on 23 January 1964 they became the first Phantom squadron to operate on board Franklin D. Roosevelt. In June 1966, after moving to NAS Oceana, the squadron deployed to the South China Sea to conduct air strikes and support missions against military targets in North Vietnam. During this combat deployment, the squadron flew 1,688 hours on 967 combat sorties and delivered 651,624 pounds of ordnance, in addition to flying its traditional combat air patrol and fighter escort missions. When Franklin D. Roosevelt entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for modernization, CVW-1 and VF-14 were reassigned to USS John F. Kennedy in 1969 and stayed with it for nine deployments until 1982.
caption: VF-14 F-4B landing on USS John F. Kennedy in 1968
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